Mexico. Bose reported on the distributed audio solution chosen by Finest Playa Mujeres, a spectacular luxury resort located in Cancun, which uses the processor and software technology of Bose's ControlSpace system to sound 28 areas of the hotel with almost 389 speakers, through a digital audio network based on the Dante protocol.
Located 25 minutes north of Cancun in the Mexican Caribbean, Finest Playa Mujeres is part of Excellence Group Luxury Hotels & Resorts, a resort chain specializing in all-inclusive property management that focuses on attention to detail, luxury accommodations, fine dining and other elements that help create the perfect environment to enjoy the best vacation.
Global symbiosis
A hotel of its category must offer high-level entertainment and the sound system must offer a musical experience that accompanies and gratifies guests during their stay. This is how Finest Playa Mujeres chose Bose as the brand for the total sound of its premium spaces. The Spanish company, Estel Ingeniería y Obras served as the integrator that made possible the high-performance solution necessary for this resort.
Due to the dimensions of the resort and the distance between the buildings, this sound project was a technological challenge that led to the integration of speakers, interfaces and amplifiers managed by Bose's ControlSpace system, a powerful platform of processors, controllers and software that deliver an extraordinary combination of flexibility and ease of use.
The great challenge of audio: distances
The distances between the hotel buildings exceed 300 meters, so there was a risk of signal loss and interference when distributing audio signals. The Bose Professional Mexico team suggested designing a digital audio network based on the Dante1 protocol, that way distances would not be an obstacle.
When designing the design of the system, the huge terrain and its amenities were divided into 28 audio zones. Bose worked hand in hand with Estel to consolidate an efficient, attractive, powerful, robust and high sound quality solution.
The directors of Finest Playa Mujeres were clear about their desires: supreme sound quality, control of sources and volumes by area, and programming of operating hours, without the need for staff intervention. For example, the system was requested to turn on gradually in the morning and automatically shut down at a certain time of night.
Dante technology was key in the project, as it allowed the design of a turnkey project in which resources were optimized and a simple installation was achieved.
The system distributes musical content that is integrated into the experience of all the consumption centers of Finest Playa Mujeres, from its 11 specialty restaurants, the impressive Golden Bar that welcomes the restaurant area and the lobby, to the other 16 bars and lounges scattered throughout the property, including those of the pools or those that provide a spectacular view of the seashore.
Other facilities, such as the perfectly equipped 1,650m2 gym, the relaxing ONE Spa or the more than 5,000m2 of meeting and event spaces were also included within the solution.
The project in detail: Network-based multi-zone digital audio
The hotel area was divided into five large areas (Central Main Level, Central Lower Level, Playa 1, Playa 2 and Playa 3 + Piscinas). Each of them is powered by an extensive digital audio network from the heart of the system: two DSP ESP00-II processors and an ESP880 DSP processor, both with Dante cards. These three components distribute the network that reaches the 28 audio zones in which 389 Bose speakers are used installed throughout the Finest Playa Mujeres.
The long distances were solved with fiber optic cable, from the DSP processors to each zone.
Six Bose PowerMatch amplifiers were also used, two 8-channel and 500W and the remaining four of 250W each, resulting in 16,000 watts of power to bathe all spaces in this resort. To this, we must add 3 small FreeSpace ZA-190 amplifiers (90 watts) for the pool area.
Controls to the master's eye
Despite the complexity in terms of number of zones and speakers, the control system is very simple. This uses two centralized Bose CC-64 controllers, network devices that provide a simple and logical interface to the ControlSpace system. Both are fully programmable, so it is possible to customize the system to the point of making only some controls available for the user to interact with. In fact, cc-64s are installed so that only authorized persons handle them, for example, the hotel manager or the Maintenance manager.
For the control by zone, 28 wall panels model CC-16 were chosen. These buttons allow the selection of sources, control of the volume level of the area and even the "call of scenes" or the visualization of system settings. With them, each space is controlled locally, in such a way that those responsible for restaurants, bars, clubs, spa or gym can decide the type of music and the volume level according to the profile of their visitors. For its part, the music that is heard in the gardens and common areas, such as corridors or access to the areas of rooms, is the same and operates between 9 and 21 hours.
The operation and supervision of the correct functioning of the audio system and the distribution of contents is in charge of the hotel's Audiovisual Systems staff.
The project also used the ControlSpace Designer software, both for audio settings and for programming the sound activation schedules for each of the zones. The timer executes orders automatically and synchronously.
Curating music content
Through its Entertainment department, Finest Playa Mujeres defines the concept of music and selects the contents according to a study of the profile of its guests. For this, they rely on the specialized company Encanta Música, which is responsible for the design and maintenance of the musical content that is heard in the different areas of the hotel.
Encanta Música delivered 12 channels of pre-programmed music ranging from deep house or EDM (electronic dance music) to inspirational, piano or new wave. When doing it via streaming it is necessary to convert the digital signal that arrives through Ethernet to an analog signal, this is done by occupying a special interface, from which the music is injected into the ControlSpace ESP-880 and ControlSpace ESP-00 II processors.
Commissioning
Bose Professional collaborated with Estel on the design of the Finest Playa Mujeres audio system. The first draft was elaborated based on software and only took two days, then during two months of progress of civil works and thanks to the open architecture of the system it was possible to make the changes suggested by the hotel managers in order to personalize the sound experience to the maximum.
Bose's team of engineers moved to Playa Mujeres to oversee hardware installation and implementation details. For several days they assisted the Estel staff, reviewing wiring, interfaces and keypads, in addition to making the final adjustments in ControlSpace Designer.
Thanks to the joint work of the engineers and technicians of Estel Ingeniería y Obras, the Bose staff and the comfort experts of Finest Playa Mujeres, that exuberant paradise sounds like luxury, tranquility and romance through one of the best sound systems installed in the entire Caribbean.
Bose Teams at Finest Playa Mujeres
Speakers
307 FreeSpace DS-16E speakers
82 FreeSpace 360P-II speakers (outdoor)
Electronics
2 dSP ESP00-II processors with Dante cards
1 ESP880 DSP processor with Dante cards
2 PowerMatch 8500N amplifiers with Dante card
4 PowerMatch 8250N amplifiers with Dante card
3 FreeSpace ZA-190 zone amplifiers
3 ControlSpace EP-22D endpoints
System Control
2 CC-64 centralized controllers
28 CC-16 zone controllers
